absolutely alex’s adventures & times

What an exciting start the Australian Open has been for the new tennis season.

New stars were born and some of the established stars faced rude shocks during the past two weeks.

Yet, what a ride it had been for fans, for so many fabulous reasons. Despite all the drama, it’s only the beginning of the year - which means there are lots of reasons for tennis fans to keep their eyes and ears peeled for the months ahead.

1. The women

A. Maria the Assassin

Apologies for the somewhat inappropriate reference but Maria Sharapova is back, baby, and the others had better watch out.

After the full recovery from her shoulder injury and a miserable 2007, Maria has found her mojo once again and is more menacing than ever.

Never mind that she holds only the number five spot in the rankings. With her newfound confidence and renewed aggression, Sharapova is in devastating form and is the one to beat. She has proven her versatility in the sport, having won Wimbledon 2004, the US Open in 2006 and now, the Australian Open. (Does anyone else notice that even years seem to work better for the Russian blonde?) More ominously, she mowed down heavy-weights in her quest for the Australian Open title, without having to drop a single set.

It’s so easy to hate Sharapova - for her glamorous good looks, the on-court shrieking, her psycho dad, and the early successes. But Sharapova looks to have developed a new level of maturity and grace that has boosted her game, making her detractors eat their words while she blows the competition clear out of the water.

Her Kryptonite, like Roger Federer, is the red clay at Roland Garrros, which means that she would not be the favorite to win this year’s French Open. But the girl’s only 20, so there’s probably plenty of time for her before she too, will add the trophy from Paris to her mantel.

B. Justine Henin

What of the women’s world number one?

She remains the odds-on favorite to lift the Roland Garros crown once again, come this summer. But with Sharapova’s renewed hunger and power, Henin would have to fight harder not only to remain the top dog but also to win her first Wimbledon title.

Like a female Federer, Henin is facing a new wave of young and eager talent hungry to dethrone her. However, it is still too early to write the 25-year old Belgian off. Hers might not be the power game favored by today’s younger players but her sharp intelligence and quick thinking, together with an indomitable spirit, still make her a dangerous opponent.

With her devastating loss to Sharapova in the Australian Open quarterfinals, you can bet that Henin would go back to the drawing board and work even harder.

C. The Serbians and the other Eastern Europeans

At this point, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic just do not have the mental edge to take them to the level of tennis occupied by Henin and Sharapova. Both the Serbians have made vast improvements, especially the younger Ivanovic. Somehow, they are not quite ready to take it to the next level of actually winning Grand Slams, even if they might be physically ready - well, Ivanovic at least, while Jankovic seems to be too bogged down by her multiple injuries currently.

Ivanovic has played in two Grand Slam finals but still needs work on her mental game to be up there with the champions. Again, age is on her side and perhaps she will finally break through later this year, or next year.

Daniela Hantuchova - what a waste! The girl’s got the talent but not the mental fortitude nor self-belief to match her game. She is in danger of being written off as yet another “choker” and with every tournament that she throws away, it is getting harder for her fulfil her promise.

Are we ever going to see the other Russians in the women’s circuit stepping up?

The Svetlana Kutznetsovas, the Elena Dementievas and the Anna Chakvetadzes are constantly in the top 20, even the top 10, but one can’t help feeling that they are there to round up the numbers and for the top-rung to pick through on their way to racking up titles.

D. The Williams

This Australian Open truly shattered the aura of their ability to dominate the women’s game as and when they choose to.

Their former victims have ended up beating them convincingly and despite more training and effort put in by the Williams, they can no longer come along and mop up the competition, as the women’s field gains depth.

Would they still slog on? Do they have the interest to keep fighting to win the big events? Who really knows when it comes to the Williams?

2. The men

A. Federer the (temporarily) fallen

Sure, Federer was taken out in straight sets by the eventual Australian Open winner, Novak Djokovic.

But who among us hasn’t had a bad day at the office?

It’s just that when the likes of Federer have a bad day, EVERYONE notices. And the vultures swoop in.

Hold your horses - it’s still too early to write the Swiss maestro’s obituary. No doubt the road to winning more Grand Slams (3 more to beat Pete Sampras’ all-time record) is going to get more arduous for Federer, but he still has time, and more significantly, the game, to crush lesser mortals.

It is proof of the kind of class Federer has when he repeatedly played down the effect of his bout of illness that he suffered just before the Australian Open. Swiss newspapers had shed light on the fact that not only was he hospitalized, he lost something like three kilograms due to that ailment. So Federer was not at his best nor well-prepared enough to face the rigors of a tournament at Grand Slam level.

The ironic thing is, this loss could well spurn Federer on to train harder, soup up his strategy and even find a coach to tighten his game. Expect him to come back hungrier and perhaps more aggressive - he wants to chase down Sampras’ record and he would want to do it sooner rather than later.

B. Nadal is not over the hill either

Poor Rafa.

He had it even worse than Federer.

Critics were quick to dismiss him as nothing more than a clay-court specialist. But they forget to mention that Nadal’s semi-final outing in this Australian Open is his best result ever.

And what a class act the Spaniard was after his defeat by the giant-killer Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. No excuses, no belittling his opponent. In his blog, Nadal gave full credit to Tsonga’s brilliant play.

And Nadal is still improving. At 21, he is already holding three French Open titles, plus a serious shot at winning last year’s Wimbledon. Nadal remains the top contender to be the next world number one. So give him a break.

C. Djokovic stops (d)joking

The ambition. The hunger. The dedication. And now, the Australian Open crown.

Djokovic has proven to be a quick study and is indubitably here to stay as the gate-crasher to Federer’s and Nadal’s dominance.

At this moment, hard courts seem to be his domain and with more hard court matches than other surfaces in the men’s tour, Djokovic will enjoy much success.

But it’s striking how quickly he switched from being everyone’s favorite joker on the circuit when he did spot-on imitations of his peers, to one facing an openly partisan crowd against him in Melbourne.

For the young Serbian who wears his heart on his sleeves, loves attention and adores adulation, the Melbourne crowd’s lukewarm reaction to his moment of greatest triumphs smarted badly.

He has himself to blame for the lacklustre crowd support.

For one, his gamesmanship has annoyed many, especially the sports-mad Aussies and their sense of fairplay. When Djokovic celebrates points won against opponents, his chest-thumping and screams carry too much of an edge that smacks of arrogance. No wonder then that the crowd had not embraced him, giving his wins appreciative applause but saving heartfelt cheers for his opponents.

He might have made history by being the first Serbian man to win a Grand Slam tournament. No doubt he will win a few more. But there’s still some ways to go before he can get the appreciation and support he craves.

D. Tsonga the French sensation

Tsonga is living proof that when the French have it, they have it in bucket-loads.

Only someone with his charisma and talent could overshadow the other fantastic storyline of the tournament despite not hoisting the champion’s trophy - that of Djokovic winning his first Grand Slam title.

The crowds at Melbourne lapped up the Frenchman’s electrifying go-for-broke style, booming serves and astonishing shot-making. And they obligingly roared louder every time Tsonga incites them to bring down the house.

Add to that Tsonga’s compelling personal story of nearly losing the chance to compete at the top-level, as his body let him down again and again in the past three years, first his back, then his shoulder and abdomen.

With his body finally playing ball, he was able to unleash an irresistible brand of tennis, entering the stratosphere of tennis superstardom.

The big risk is that Tsonga will be one of the many shooting stars that fall off just as quickly. But if he keeps up with the exuberance and audacity that he had displayed in Melbourne, he would doubtless be unforgettable, and another serious, and welcome, contender.

Now if only I can get my body clock back to normal hours after having stayed up till the wee hours to catch the matches for the past two weeks…

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Not a good day to be making predictions today. Both my picks for totally different contests fell through.

First, Senator Hillary Clinton lost the South Carolina primary elections, as she earned just under half of the votes of the overwhelming winner, Senator Barack Obama. But as the Democratic presidential nomination showdown heads into Super Duper Tuesday on February 5 when 22 states are in play, I am hoping that Clinton prevails.

Then, French tennis sensation Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ran out of steam in the final of the Australian Open, falling to Novak Djokovic 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-7 (2), despite taking the first set.

Perhaps the lack of experience and nerves finally ended the unseeded Frenchman’s glorious run during the past two weeks, when he steamrolled higher-ranked players, such as Andy Murray, Mikhail Youzny and Raphael Nadal. But Tsonga’s fairy tale came to a halt as the enormity of the situation finally bore down on him, and a lack of experience on the big stage (this being only his second Australian Open and fifth Grand Slam outing) made him rack up errors and dimmed his confidence.

It didn’t help that Tsonga let Djokovic’s gamesmanship get under his skin, twice complaining to the chair umpire of the Serb’s time-wasting and endless ball-bouncing during his service games.

Regrettably, Tsonga was unable to let his annoyance at Djokovic work in his favor, even when Djokovic was down on the fourth set of the match and fluffed many of his first services. Tsonga was a little too anxious tonight, rushing points too much by trying aggressive shots but these unfortunately did not pay off as much as he would have liked them to.

Kudos to Djokovic for learning from Nadal’s and Youzny’s mistakes, by making sure to send his shots deep and pinning Tsonga to the baseline, taking out his chances of delivering deadly drop shots from near the net. Djokovic’s constant pressure also neutralized Tsonga’s firecracker of a forehand, forcing him on the defensive in the second and third sets.

But the Frenchman from Le Mans displayed fearless play even when things were not going his way. Demonstrating ferocious tenacity when he was down 0-40 and fighting to stave off set point for Djokovic in the third set, Tsonga saved five set points. But the occasion got to the better of him and he eventually lost his serve, and the set, but not before making Djokovic work for it.

Tsonga also held his nerve when the pressure was on, holding serve beautifully in the fourth set of the match to force a tie-break. But in the end Djokovic’s experience and winners got the better of Tsonga and ended his dream run.

No doubt though, that the 22-year old Frenchman is still a winner despite coming in second. His electrifying blend of exuberance, daring and talent has fired up the public’s imagination and propelled him into tennis stardom. Expect to see more of him in the years ahead, especially if his wounded body holds up and frees him to play at the level he deserves to be in.

Novak Djokovic finally held his nerve in a big game and beat a glum-looking, his-heart-is-not-in-it Roger Federer, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) in the semi-final of the Australian Open.

Now my money is truly on France’s surprise breakout player, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to win it all in Sunday’s final.

(Photo from Panaromic)

What an exciting match it is going to be! A serve and volley player like Tsonga against Djokovic the baseline slugger.

Even as I try to digest Federer’s loss and mourn his exit from the tournament, I wonder if we are witnessing a changing of the guard in the tennis world here.

Yesterday, Raphael Nadal was stunned by an unstoppable Tsonga, today Federer got dethroned by Djokovic.

In retrospect, Federer never looked like he brought his A game into the match, chalking up an appalling number of errors, while his serve, which had bailed him out countless times, deserted him today. The precision with which he usually places shots also seemed to have eluded him. Throughout the match, Federer just looked like he wanted to be elsewhere and never gave a determined Djokovic much of a fight.

Federer could have closed out the first set when he was up 5-4, after breaking Djokovic’s serve, but uncharacteristically sent many routine shots into the net, setting up opportunities for Djokovic to steal the set later.

(Getty Images) 

What happened to Federer today?

It was one of his most off-color matches ever. He was not playing aggressively nor was he his usual dominating self. He did not even seem motivated.

After losing the first two sets in quick succession, the crowd in Melbourne was clearly behind the defending champion, cheering and willing him on to come back and win this in five sets. Strangely, Federer just could not get into gear and conceded this to Djokovic.

“I think he made the more important points today, it was a bit unfortunate for me,” Federer told the media. “It depends a lot on form, you can’t always play your best. There is no doubt I have played better before. I’ve created a monster that I need to win every tournament. Still, the semi-finals isn’t bad.”

Here’s hoping that this is just a glitch and Federer would be back in fine form very soon, although the reality of things is that his dominance is going to come to an end one of these days. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he could still beat Pete Sampras’ record in the number of Grand Slam wins before his era is over.

At the same time, let’s have some perspective here. After wowing us for years, perhaps our expectations of Federer have also grown way out of proportion. This is after all a semi-final match of a Grand Slam and Federer was beaten by the world number three - significant, yes, but not as catastrophic as some might make it out to be, nor the end, as some might have already declared, of the Federer era.

On balance, this is a good development for tennis as new blood is coming up and the final of a Grand Slam does not have either Federer or Nadal in it, much as I admire them both. The last time that happened was in 2005 in the French Open, which does make today’s result a landmark of sorts. Keep in mind too, that the Australian Open has been fertile ground for throwing up new stars, such as Marcos Baghdatis, Marat Safin and Fernando Gonzalez.

One last thing - there is no faulting Djokovic’s play today, he served well under pressure and produced great winners. But I can’t help getting the feeling that Djokovic needs to be taught some manners, the way he shouts at the ball boys to bring him his towel, or the arrogance he is already displaying, despite not yet being number one. He had also been unforgivably rude to the crowd throughout the tournament, yelling at them for cheering when he serves. You certainly don’t see Federer doing that.

Perhaps Djokovic’s manners would eventually mature the same way his game has and someone would tell him that he still has a lot to learn from Federer - that to be a champion, one ought to be a world-class person, not just a world-class tennis player.

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has done it again, continuing on his extraordinary run in the Australian Open by upsetting world number two Rafael Nadal in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

(photo by The Age) 

In a superb display of flawless serving (17 aces), fearless net play and blistering winners (49 versus 13 from Nadal), the unseeded Tsonga booked himself a berth in the finals, awaiting either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic’s arrival on Sunday.

Through the 117 minute match, Tsonga stayed unruffled and coolly threw one puzzle after another at Nadal, who could find no answer and lost his serve right at the start. Conversely, Tsonga’s serve was so impregnable that Nadal could only find his first break opportunity in the second set but failed to convert. From there, the Frenchman did not give the Spaniard much chance, clinging on to his serve and further threatened Nadal’s.

Prior to this match, Nadal had not dropped a single set in the tournament. But in a stunning change in this match, Nadal was made to look like the unseeded player, often frustrated and even angry. No one has beaten Nadal in this manner, until Tsonga breezed along, pulverized Nadal into submission and shook up the tennis world.

“Just amazing… unbelievable… nothing could stop me today,” the 22-year-old Tsonga told the press after the match. “I tried to hit everything and everything went in, so… what can I say?”

Will Tsonga, the 38th-ranked player in the world, go all the way and bring the Australian Open crown home?

Don’t be surprised if he does.

It has been a while since I actually felt joy while watching tennis.

The emotions that come to mind are more like excitement and admiration, or even boredom at times.

But joy was a new dimension that entered my tennis lexicon the other night I watched Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga take apart his compatriot Richard Gasquet in the Australian Open.

What a revelation Tsonga, the son of a chemistry teacher who played international handball for Congo, is.

I must admit that I have never seen this young man in action and I blame myself completely for my ignorance and having missed out.

Tsonga is an incredibly refreshing change from the more famous players.

This is a guy who plays tennis the way it ought to be played - with a carefree, easy confidence and sharp intelligence.

Despite playing the biggest games of his short career, Tsonga is frighteningly composed and relaxed on court. But what makes him such a pleasure to watch, above all else, is that he looks like he is actually having a ball out there.

No power strokes from the baseline from Tsonga either. His game is the fluid serve and volley style that has been sorely missing in tennis for the longest time and there is no better player to revive that classic style of play.

This talented Frenchman is a thinking player - it’s all about clever angles and switching things around, a great combination that befuddles and throws his opponents off balance while sending them scrambling all over the court to retrieve his ridiculously diverse range of shots.

His fearlessness and deft work at the net is nothing short of amazing. I have lost count of the number of times he approached the net and demoralized opponents with his exquisite drop-shots. The best they could do was shoot him murderous looks. Of course, it also helps that Tsonga has a blistering forehand and booming serves to round up his game. And for such a big guy (6-2, 200 pounds), his athleticism and speed is astounding.

It is amazing that just two years ago, this 22-year old was suffering from a myriad of injuries, from a herniated disc in his back, to shoulder and abdominal problems. This Australian Open is only his fifth major and Tsonga has already penetrated the rarefied air of the semi-finals, blowing past other seeded players like Andy Murray and Mikhail Youzny. Consider this - tennis marvel Roger Federer only got to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam (in Wimbledon) after 17 outings.

Like Federer, Tsonga makes things look easy. But unlike Federer, Tsonga has a more free-wheeling and effervescent style of play that is irresistibly infectious. Perhaps the joy of recovering from his injuries and finally being able to play at this top-level again is the source of this exuberance. And this is no doubt spreading to the crowds who watch him and cheer him on delightedly, aware that they are watching someone quite extraordinary.

Tsonga is playing Nadal in the semi-finals and could possibly continue on his giant-slaying run and cause a major upset in Melbourne on the level that Janko Tipsarevic couldn’t convert against Federer in the third round. But even if Tsonga’s Australian journey ends at Nadal’s hands, he is the new tennis star to watch.

Catch the infection.

If I had paid to watch the Australian Open semi-final match between Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic in Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, I would have demanded my money back.

It was hardly worthy of being a semi-final match, being so woefully lackluster and one-sided. Sharapova was simply superb, but unfortunately, Jankovic was not giving her much competition, nor very much a workout either, losing 6-3, 6-1.

The difference between the two women was night and day.

Sharapova was sharp, aggressive and more importantly, hungry and out to win.

Jankovic is usually a competitive player but today, she could have very well been a mere spectator, from the many occasions she just seemed to stare glumly at the deadly passing shots fired by Sharapova.

And that was the crux - Jankovic just didn’t seem to be in the mood to fight very hard or run after Sharapova’s shots. Hers was not a face that believed she stood a chance against the grimly determined Russian, or one that was prepared to fight for every single point. Whether it was more due to her back pain and other injuries coming home to roost or a lack of will, however, is the question, although Jankovic was reported to have needed painkillers before taking to the court.

Not to be callous, but it was honestly a painful match to watch. One wished Jankovic would have just retired since the pain was affecting her so badly or since she decided to stay in the game, tried a little harder not to be completely routed by Sharapova.

Not that Jankovic didn’t have her chances tonight against Sharapova, unlike poor Justine Henin in the quarter-finals against Sharapova. In that match, Sharapova similarly came out swinging but did not let up one bit.

In tonight’s semi-final, there were many times when Sharapova’s serve deserted her, causing her to double-fault twice in a single game. Also, Sharapova’s first service percentage was only 55 per cent, compared to Jankovic’s 73 per cent. Regrettably, Jankovic failed to capitalize on those chances, nor did she attack Sharapova’s second serves enough when her first serves faltered.

It is a tribute to the Russian’s famed toughness that despite a few jitters and an interruption to the match brought on by Jankovic’s injury timeout that she stayed focused and ended the one-sided match in a rapid 78 minutes.

Going into the final, Sharapova is the definite favorite, as unlike her, neither one of her next potential opponents, Ana Ivanovic or Daniela Hantuchova, has been in an Australian Open final. The way Sharapova has been performing, the odds seem stacked in her favor to be the one lifting the champion’s trophy in Melbourne, and banish the nightmares of a terrible thrashing by Serena Williams in the same place last year.

Roger Federer has been served notice - he is the bull’s eye everyone is aiming for, not just of those ranked at the top of the tennis pack with him but even the less heralded players.

While the world’s top tennis player, and some regard as the best of all time, is chasing history, Federer’s opponents are getting closer to chasing him down and denying him of beating Pete Sampras’ record of winning Grand Slam championships. Sampras collected a total of 14 Grand Slams, while Federer has already bagged 12. With his eye on the history books, he is hoping to surpass Sampras’ record this year, especially with one of the wins at Roland Garros, which has hitherto eluded him.

But the path to history is looking thornier these days for the Swiss maestro.

“You have to believe that you’re going to beat Roger Federer when you go on court, as stupid as it might sound. If you go out there thinking, ‘I’m going to play a good match, make him sweat for his money’ or something like that, it’s not going to work. Because then when the chances are given to you, and even Roger Federer is giving chances, you’re not going to use them because you’re going to be too afraid for victory. So I went on court with the idea that I can win,” the latest challenger, Serbia’s Janko Tipsaravic, told the media after coming this close to beating Federer just a day ago at the Australian Open.

With a confident and aggressive game plan, Tipsaravic was able to stretch Federer hard and forced him to play his longest match ever, a five-set thriller lasting 4 hours and 27 minutes. And that was just the third round of the tournament. In contrast, Federer won last year’s Australian Open without dropping a single set in the entire tournament. The noose is tightening around Federer.

Which would mean that the rest of the tournament is probably going to be harder for him, as upcoming opponents take heart from his near-upset by Tipsaravic, fight a little harder and have a little more self-belief against a Federer who seems more human now.

But these contenders should do well to take heed of how much reserves and confidence Federer has, even in the face of such stiff resistance.

For one, his physical condition is impressive, especially as he is coming off a bout of flu that plagued him just before the Australian Open and entered the tournament without the benefit of playing in warm-up matches. While the younger Tipsaravic was visibly tiring in the final set and grunting with every shot, Federer seemed as fresh as he was at the start of the match.

The part Federer’s opponents might find hardest to overcome is his mental edge. At no point during the match with Tipsaravic did he seem ruffled, even at two sets down. He just seemed to find a response to everything that Tipsaravic threw at him. A sign of his mental steel is his serve. In the face of an unyielding opponent, Federer responded by serenely firing off aces, recording a personal best of 39 staggering aces. And right after losing a set, Federer came back to thrash Tipsaravic’s resolve in the fourth set with a 6-1 score.

Nevertheless, the match had given away to Federer’s adversaries a chink in the mighty Swiss’ armor - that he can be suppressed from the baseline. You can bet that the match would be rewatched countlessly as opponents continue trying to figure out how to crack Federer.

Tennis world number one Roger Federer narrowly survived a huge upset in the third round of the Australian Open by gutsy Serbian player, Janko Tipsarevic, by prevailing 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-1) 5-7 6-1 10-8.

The four and a half hour epic struggle saw both men displaying booming serves, spectacular exchanges while refusing to let up. Federer looked in danger of being the latest seeded player to exit prematurely, after a day that saw Fernando Gonzalez and Svetlana Kuznetsova losing to lower-ranked players. But in the end, Tipsarevic fell short by just a little, succumbing to an error-strewn but cool-headed Federer, who finally prevailed.

However, Tipsarevic has established himself as the next star to watch by playing with such intelligence, self-belief and determination. He’s another product of the new tennis powerhouse, Serbia, part of the wave of young and talented players like Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic.

I need to lie down after the all the drama and staying up into the wee hours to see the match through.